7/28 Tigger AMPS 173, +3 97, +4 95, +5 122 . . . CKD worse :(

Moms2Tigger&Blu

Member Since 2018
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/7-25-tigger-amps-171-pmps-411-vet-appt-went-ok.217325/

It's been a few days since I posted - we are still a little shook at how rapidly Tigger's CKD seems to be worsening. The IM vet called and said the blood work results came back with a creatinine level of 3.5 so Tig is definitely stage 3. She does not want to change anything yet because as of that visit he seemed to be doing well. We will proceed with Cerenia daily. We will feed him whatever he wants from the list of food I compiled from all the suggestions from members on here (under 200 phos). We will sched the ultrasound sometime in the next 2 weeks and repeat a renal panel again in about 4 months. That all sounds fine and on Friday I still felt optimistic as Tigger was eating like a pig.

However yesterday and today it is a different story. The boy won't eat. Or more accurately he won't eat on his own. He is leaving full bowls to waste but if we pick it up and put it near him he starts to purr and eat frantically for a few seconds. Then he stops and walks away. It's been like this for 3 meals now. We've given in and opened his favourite shreds and the same thing. I'm struggling to get enough carbs into him for this nice surf he's attempting, but longterm we need to keep his calories up too. And I can't be here to remind him to eat hourly every day of the week. Can inappetence occur this quickly?

He has not vomited at all, he is drinking ok, his ketones are nothing, even though he had a high bounce yesterday. I though hopefully he would eat better today when I saw that AMPS cause he's usually ravenous when he's low but nope. He still wants to carry around his muppet, play with his catnip and toys, and sleep in my arms all night . . . but this appetite thing is throwing me. He has always been picky but never this way for this many meals in a row.

I have several emails in to the vet but I feel helpless.
 
I'm so sorry Tigger is not eating and his CKD is worse. I don't know if this will help if it's the CKD causing him to not want to eat, but here are the suggestions we give to people when their cat won't eat. Sending prayers.

Do you have any parmesan cheese? If you maybe sprinkle a little of that on her food, she will perhaps eat? usually ondansetron is better for nausea than cerenia but it doesn't hurt to give her the cerenia....it can help.

Can you finger feed her....either see if she will lick food off your finger or will she let you dab some on the front of her tongue or on the roof of her mouth? Just be careful that it's only a small amount and that you don't get it down her throat.

Here's some info Jill often posts when a kitty won't eat:Here are some things you can do do entice your cat to eat:

-sometimes in order to get a cat to eat you even have to resort to dry it is more important that they eat. there are a couple low carb / grain free brands -- EVO and wellness core.

-making a buffet to give him choices
- heating food

sprinkle food with :
- forta flora -- a probiotic you can get at vets or online. is very smelly and cats love the taste of it.
- parm. cheese
- smashed crumbles of dry food
- Purebites Duck Liver -- crushed and put on as a topper.
- bonito tuna flakes
- halo chicken treats -- crumble into dust over food
- poor a little water from tuna in water over food ( I use low sodium/no sodium added as other kinds in water has veg. broth in it and I assume that means onions, which are toxic to cats-- check labels)
-powdered oregano. yep sounds weird . but some cats like it and it will entice them to eat.

other ideas of foods to offer your kitty to stim appy:
- trader joe tuna for cats
-baby food -- beechnut turkey and broth or chicken and broth. they have no onions or other additives. some babyfoods have onions . please read labels if you can't find beechnut.
- kentucky fried chicken
- deli turkey /chicken
- plain cooked ( boiled or baked ) chicken breast
-canned chicken for people (watch the label that their are no onions)
- chicken broth -- low sodium
 
Might ask for Ondan to give with the Cerenia. It does sound like nausea to me.

but if we pick it up and put it near him he starts to purr and eat frantically for a few seconds. Then he stops and walks away.

What was the phos level on the last labs? High phos blood levels can cause nausea. Are you using binders?

ETA-could he be constipated?
 
I'm so sorry Tigger is not eating and his CKD is worse. I don't know if this will help if it's the CKD causing him to not want to eat, but here are the suggestions we give to people when their cat won't eat. Sending prayers.

Do you have any parmesan cheese? If you maybe sprinkle a little of that on her food, she will perhaps eat? usually ondansetron is better for nausea than cerenia but it doesn't hurt to give her the cerenia....it can help.

Can you finger feed her....either see if she will lick food off your finger or will she let you dab some on the front of her tongue or on the roof of her mouth? Just be careful that it's only a small amount and that you don't get it down her throat.
It seems like he wants to eat but only 5-10 bites. But I will try again 30 min and he will eat again, but only a few bites and so on. When I open a can he comes running and purring loudly. He seems to just not be interested in a whole meal of any kind. We have tried some of your suggestions and will try other but it is always the same thing. I will ask again about the ondansetron but the vet said it was alot more exspensive and given 2x a day vs once for cerenia
 
Might ask for Ondan to give with the Cerenia. It does sound like nausea to me.



What was the phos level on the last labs? High phos blood levels can cause nausea. Are you using binders?

ETA-could he be constipated?
Phosphorous was the same as original BW she said, but I dont have exact numbers. No binders - vet said they were chalky and hard to get cats to even eat them so for now with his levels normal we should hold off trying. He definitely could be constipated. We've recently changed his meds around, but actually added back more miralx so I dunno. However he has not made a large BM all weekend, only 2 very small logs, though no hard little balls like when he used to be really really constipated. Can cerenia cause constipation?
 
Have you taken a look at Tanya's website? It's the equivalent of FDMB for cats with kidney disease. I just can't remember what it is with kidney issues that throws off appetite.

One of the values of a phos binder is that you can pretty much feed your cat anything. If you're kitty is becoming picky, this overcomes the problem. I did not find the binder that I used with Gabby was chalky. There's a good section on binders on Tanya's site. I'd also ask here for input.

Has the vet suggested fluids?
 
Phosphorous was the same as original BW she said, but I dont have exact numbers. No binders - vet said they were chalky and hard to get cats to even eat them so for now with his levels normal we should hold off trying. He definitely could be constipated. We've recently changed his meds around, but actually added back more miralx so I dunno. However he has not made a large BM all weekend, only 2 very small logs, though no hard little balls like when he used to be really really constipated. Can cerenia cause constipation?
I think your vet is not up-to-date on binders. Aluminum hydroxide powder is inexpensive and tasteless. It has to be mixed with the food but my CKD cats ate like it wasn’t there.

His 7/1 labs look pretty good except for the BUN and creatinine....and, the Phosphorus is higher than it should be. You want to keep it between 4 and 4.5 but binders are not usually started until the P is at 6. However, daily subq fluids can be started when the creatinine is above 3.5. He’s close but not quite there.

I hope it’s just the constipation and he continues to eat.
 
I think your vet is not up-to-date on binders. Aluminum hydroxide powder is inexpensive and tasteless. It has to be mixed with the food but my CKD cats ate like it wasn’t there.

His 7/1 labs look pretty good except for the BUN and creatinine....and, the Phosphorus is higher than it should be. You want to keep it between 4 and 4.5 but binders are not usually started until the P is at 6. However, daily subq fluids can be started when the creatinine is above 3.5. He’s close but not quite there.

I hope it’s just the constipation and he continues to eat.
ate like a champ all day . . . and with good BG's too! I will look into all these suggestions. Thank you all so much!
 
Another thing I was going to mention is dehydration can sku the bloodwork number and make it appear kidneys are worse than actual. I am not saying this is the case, just a possibility. :bighug:
 
Another thing I was going to mention is dehydration can sku the bloodwork number and make it appear kidneys are worse than actual. I am not saying this is the case, just a possibility. :bighug:
We were hoping that, especially as the second set were hard to get, the vet kept blowing veins and there was no urine in his bladder to test. But the 3rd time everything was super smooth and the vet agreed he seemed well hydrated. but its ok, im coming to terms with this new bump and learning all i can
 
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